Although the final few pages have yet to turn to officially shift the calendar to 2024, the New Balance Baseball Future Stars Series has already made big moves behind the scenes in advance of what’s set to be the biggest year in company history.
Built on a mission of advancing players and the game through integrity, ethics, teamwork, selflessness, and positivity, the organization has elevated Pat Murphy as their new Director of Scouting, and promoted Jeremy Hamilton to Assistant Director of Player Development.
Additionally, Scott Pittenger, who has had a presence at FSS events in the past with Scoutcast, has been hired as the new Director of Tournaments, and Baseball Factory veteran Mike Landis has been brought in as the new Director of Player Development.
“This has been in the works for months,” said FSS president and CEO, Jeremy Booth.
“It started in July, and gained some steam once Jim Duquette and Bobby Evans came on board. They immediately identified where we could improve and we worked aggressively to address it. The internal promotions are earned and will take a big step forward for us with positive makeup and team unity mindset that was clearly a need. The adds of Pittenger and Landis not only give us monumental upgrades in talent on the ops side, but Mike has a background and reach that will actively help the series and its players. I look forward to the best days ahead we’ve seen yet with this crew. We upgraded.”
Murphy has quite literally built a Hall of Fame career as a scout, being inducted into the Texas Scout Association Hall of Fame 2015. Murph brings 32 years of experience as a big league scout to the Future Stars Series, first joining the organization in 2022 and immediately brought a significant presence in providing detailed, on-site evaluations of players at events.
An outdoors enthusiast and proud graduate of Stephen F. Austin University, the Texas native began his career with the Houston Astros back in 1990, starting as a Computer Operations Manager before first being elevated to a Baseball Operations Assistant and then an Area Scout before finishing up as their Assistant Director of Scouting after 16 years in the organization. Towards the end of his tenure there, Murphy was instrumental in making critical moves to bolster the club, including the Rule 5 addition of Willy Taveras as well as drafting Hunter Pence.
His impact continued with the Rays organization upon joining them in 2005, where he served as an area scout for 16 years. It was with Tampa Bay where Murphy signed future big leaguer Gerardo Reyes out of a tryout camp, and he also played a critical role in adding Hunter Wood, Austin Pruitt and Roel Ramirez into the fold out of the later rounds of the Draft as well.
Hamilton was drafted in the 5th round of the 2008 MLB Draft by the Phillies out of Wright State, where he earned a degree in Organizational Leadership and was also a member of the USA Baseball National Team. As the Assistant Director at Cincinnati Reds Urban Youth Academy, he worked extensively in their baseball and softball programs.
Having reached A-ball during his time with the Phillies, for whom he was a .248 hitter over his two seasons in their organization, Hamilton ultimately enjoyed an eight-year professional career as a versatile player in independent ball, playing in the American Association, Frontier League and Northern League. Since originally joining the Future Stars Series as the Foundation Director, “Ham” has also played a big role both on and off the field, as he’s also served as an in-uniform coach, evaluator and instructor at numerous events.
Landis arrives at Future Stars Series/Program 15 after a rich 12-year tenure with the Baseball Factory, culminating in his role as the Senior Director of Player Development and Operations. His expertise extends to scouting and managing teams in the Baseball Factory All-America game since 2020. Throughout his career, Mike has played a pivotal role in developing and guiding thousands of amateur athletes. His influence extends beyond players to collaborating with professional athletes, coaches, scouts, and front office personnel, as well as agencies, providing valuable insights into player development and scouting strategies.
Before his time with the Baseball Factory, Mike helped in the building a new program to collegiate baseball as the Associate Head Coach and Recruiting Director at Hood College for four years. He played collegiately at Montgomery College (JUCO), laying the foundation for a multifaceted career that combines hands-on coaching, scouting, and player development expertise.
“I am excited to start this new chapter with Jeremy and the rest of the FSS team. They have done a ton of great work in all facets of the game, and I am humbled for the opportunity to join the fun.”
Pittenger brings ten years of experience in the amateur/travel baseball world. For the last five years, Scott has served as the Vice President of Scoutcast, providing top of the line, semi-automated recruiting videos with FlightScope data overlaid. Scoutcast’s services have been provided to Future Stars Series for three years during Scott’s tenure at many of their national and international Combines.
Prior to Scoutcast, Scott coached college baseball for four years between Florida International University and Chipola Junior College, including when Chipola was the consensus No. 1 team in 2014 and the coaching staff earned Coach of the Year honors.
After that season Scott, began scouting Prospect Wire tournaments and the following year was named National Scouting Director for PW. He and the CEO of Prospect Wire, Matt Bomeisl, founded Scoutcast in 2018.
Pittenger played four years of college baseball at Northwestern State University and graduated with the most games played in school history. He went on to play one year as an undrafted free agent in the Baltimore Orioles organization.
Scott lives in Trinity, Florida with his wife Amanda and two daughters Emsley (9) and Adelynn (1).
“I’m excited to start a new chapter in my career in baseball. Jeremy, Renée, Brian, and the rest of the staff have been awesome to work with from my days at Scoutcast and have made me feel like a part of their family ever since. Having seen the rapid growth of FSS under Jeremy’s leadership, I believe in his vision and can’t wait to get started.”
